How Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 finale was inspired from an iconic The Next Generation episode

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds introduced a new chapter in the Star Trek universe, set before the events of the Original Series. It recently concluded its third season on September 11.

Titled New Life and New Civilizations, it revolved around some unexplored challenges in the lives of Spock and Kirk and how their mind-meld abilities allowed them to stop a seemingly unstoppable tragedy. Besides that, there was a soulful moment that happened between Captain Christopher Pike and Captain Marie Batel.

Anson Mount and Melanie Scrofano, who play these parts, ensured that it's memorable for the dedicated fans, but that's not all there is to it. The same episode reminded some viewers of something already shown in a past Star Trek project.

In a recent article, CBR mentioned a potential inspiration behind the third season's finale from an iconic The Next Generation episode, dubbed The Inner Light.

The publication also pointed out that there was, in fact, a conscious creative inspiration behind this Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode, according to the recent comments from showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers. Myers addressed the homage they tried to pay to an older, classic episode in a TV Insider interview, saying:

“I mean, we have been looking for a way to do some version of ‘The Inner Light,’ and you can’t kind of shape the whole season based on the thing you want to do. You sort of have to follow what is the natural emotional drive of the show, and we just kind of kept working on until it made us cry. That was really it.”

Here's how the Next Generation episode inspired Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 finale

In the third season's tenth episode, Strange New Worlds showed a tragic moment in Batel and Pike's lives, as the former sacrificed herself for the greater good.

Before that, she kissed him and showed him the happy life he could lead, even if that may not be possible, according to the Star Trek timeline. The Next Generation episode uses a similar creative approach to show Captain Jean-Luc Picard seeing his life flash by in front of his eyes while being left unconscious after a vicious attack.

Akiva Goldsman addressed this inspiration in the interview and elaborated on his thought process, saying.

"Well, from the pilot, we really dug Mel [Melanie Scrofano, who plays Batel]. There was something kind of special about her as an actor, and then the two of them. So that was recurring for us in our imaginations."

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showrunner further added,

"And then Pike is challenging because we know that life as we know it ends for him pretty quickly, certainly his life as it has been. So how do you give him experiences that were deep and lasting, like a lifelong marriage, knowing that he doesn’t have a long life, at least in terms of, again, as we sort of think of him in Starfleet. So that was using, as Henry said, ‘The Inner Light’ trick. We wanted to give him true love.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is currently available to stream on Paramount+.

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Also read: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds final Season to enter into shooting stage very soon

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